Lower and Upper Sum

This is a dynamic worksheet to show how the lower and upper sums can be used to approximate the area between a function and the x-axis. Students use the slider to change the number of intervals. This came from the Tutorial practice and this concept can be applied to find areas of irregular shapes, such as states.

Use the slider to look at different regions.
1. What do you notice when you slide to small values?
2. What do you notice when you slide to big values?
3. What do you think the integral represents?